YesButNoButYes Store

YesButEmail

Where are they now: Mary Poppins

Posted by Scaramouch on August 07, 2005.

In her late 80s, the author of Mary Poppins, PL Travers, finally revealed that the story of the magical nanny was based on a tale she made up as a child to comfort her younger sisters when their mother declared she was going to committ suicide in the local creek.

So, now, a spoonful of sugar to help THAT medicine go down as YesButNoButYes goes searching for the cast of Disney's Mary Poppins, and asks “where are they now?”

Dame Julie Andrews - Mary PoppinsMary Poppins was Julie Andrews first major film role, after enormous success on Broadway with The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady and Camelot. After winning the oscar for Best Actress for her role as the magical nanny, she went on be a singing nun in The Sound of Music, a male/female impersonator in Victor/Victoria and to bare her 34B breasts for Director/Husband Blake Edwards in S.O.B. In 1998, a botched throat surgery irrevocably damaged her singing career, resulting in a $30 million malpractice settlement, and a spell in a psychiatric ward. Andrews was recently heard as the voice of the Queen in Shrek II.

Dick Van Dyke - BertVan Dyke's turn as “Bert The Chimney Sweep” ranks alongside Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as one of his most famous film roles. Still working, most recently recognized from his TV show, Diagnosis Murder. Dick's voice will be heard in the upcoming animated version of Curious George starring Will Ferrell.

David Tomlinson - Mr. BanksAfter Mary Poppins, Tomlinson went on to appear in more Disney movies, including The Love Bug and Bedknobs & Broomsticks. He became notorious in his local town for flying very low in his Tiger Moth plane, and once crashed, resulting in his father, an attorney, defending him in court. Tomlinson retired after his last film role with Peter Sellers, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1979 - also Sellers' last role), and died in his sleep in 2000 after a series of strokes.

Glynis Johns - Mrs. BanksHusky-voiced Glynis continued to act after Mary Poppins, her last film appearance being from 1999. Strangely enough, she also appears on the cover of Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin II album. Her wikipedia entry claims she is “one of the most beautiful women of all time”, and who are we to argue.

Karen Dotrice - Jane BanksKaren, who came from a whole family of thespians, gave up acting in the late 70s, and now has three children. Her husband is currently President of Programming for Playboy Entertainment. Dotrice was named a “Disney Legend” in 2004.

Matthew Garber - Michael BanksFor many years, the fate of Garber was unknown by many, including the Disney organization itself. He dropped out of acting after 1967 and disappeared. Recently, however, his brother has stepped forward to tell the story. It seems Garber unknowingly contracted hepatitis while in India in 1976, and by the time his father was able to get him home to London several months later, the disease had spread to his pancreas and was untreatable, resulting in his death.

Elsa Lanchester - Katie Nanna
As a child, Elsa learned to dance under the famed Isadora Duncan. The photos of her from The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) have become some of the most iconic horror movie images of the 20th century. Married to famous actor Charles Laughton, Elsa continued acting into the early 80s, and died of natural causes in 1986, aged 84.

Arthur Treacher - Constable JonesMary Poppins was to be Treacher's last screen appearance after a 35 year acting career. Seen in Hollywood as the archetypal English Butler (which he played in many movies), Treacher has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, he is probably most famous today in the malls across America, lending his name to a popular chain of Fish 'n' Chip restaurants.

Ed Wynn - Uncle Albert
Long time comedian and Vaudeville star, Wynn also appeared in many other classic movies that have become holiday staples - Meet Me In St. Louis, Miracle on 34th Street and Babes in Toyland. Wynn continued to act right up to his death in 1966 - two years after Mary Poppins - aged 79.

Jane Darwell - Bird WomanDarwell was almost 40 when she made her first film, a silent, in 1913. Her most famous role was as Ma in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and by the time Mary Poppins was underway, she had long since retired and was living at the Motion Picture Country House in California. Walt Disney came out to the home personally to persuade her to come out of retirement for this one last appearance. She died three years later in 1967.